______________________________________ U.S. Pat. Documents ______________________________________ 2616123 Armstrong 11/4/1952 17-11 2704052 Wood 3/15/1955 119/153 3540769 Rosser 4/26/68 294/19 4754569 Fish Retrieving Apparatus 4739573 Releasable Fish Gaff 5009181 Upchurch 4/23/1991 114/230 5058306 Sienel 10/22/1991 43/5 5119585 Device for roping fish ______________________________________
There is a need for an easy-to-use apparatus to assist fisherman and others in forming a slidable loop around fish and other objects. Such a device should be easy to use and permit the quick and easy forming of the loop around the target. The device should be disconnectable from the rope so that the apparatus does not interfere with the landing of the fish.
Known devices for placing a line around an object and capturing fish and wildlife include nets, gaffs, and snares.
Nets are an effective means of capturing fish and animals without harming the target. One serious problem with the use of nets is that the net has to be physically larger than the subject and has to be handled in such a fashion as to allow the net to surround the object. For large fish and many types of wildlife this is not always possible.
Snares are also effective in capturing and controlling fish and wildlife without harming them. The current art requires a completed loop to surround the target. The loop must therefore be larger than the circumference of the object. This presents problems when the object is large or has a long tail or the target is in a position where the operator can not physically surround the target.
This problem was partially solved by the use of a two part jaw, but even this had and still has significant problems. The two part jaws in U.S. Pat No. 5,058,306 issued to Hans N. Sienel on Oct. 22, 1991 requires the target to impact the hinge (or triggering device) with sufficient force to cause the two jaws to close.
One serious problem with this prior art is that the target fish activates the device by being impacted or hitting a hinge. When touched the target fish may exert an extra "last ditch" effort to escape before the prior art can be complete its operation. This additional effort will cause substantial strain and may break any lines or pull any fishing hooks holding the target. This may be the cause of the heart breaking story relating to the fisherman who has fought long and hard to bring the fish along the side of the boat only to lose him because the fishing line broke before the fish could be boated.
Another problem with prior art is that springs are an intricate component to the closing of the jaws. These springs may have uneven tension or not even enough tension to close the jaws. The problem of spring tension is further exacerbated when fish of different sizes are caught. Thus a small fish would ideally require a compression bias that is very weak to trigger the prior art's spring while this same spring tension might prematurely activate the triggering devise with the simple swirling of waters surrounding a large fish.
In addition to the problem of various compression biases to close the jaws, this prior art requires the physical hitting of the target fish. If the user applies too much force in hitting the target, the target may be injured and or even pushed out of the grips of the jaws.
Another problem with the prior art is that a ring is used to complete the loop.
GAFF because of the limitations listed and enumerated above, many fisherman continue to use a gaff to capture and remove their fish from the water. By design the gaff punctures and embeds itself in the fish. As can be expected, many fish violently twist and turn after being pierced by the gaff.
One serious problem with the use of a gaff is that fisherman using gaffs have been hurt trying to boat their capture. Even one experienced in the use of the gaff can be harmed when the fish turns and twists after being gaffed. Thus there is a potential for the fisherman to require medical attention when an unexpected force pulls the gaff from the fisherman's grip. In the simplest case the injury to the fisherman is merely a matter of a pulled arm. However the danger become more serious when the uncontrolled shaft hits those near it.
Another danger to those on the boat is the sharp point on the gaff. It may cause injury to fisherman even when the gaff is stored and not being used. The fisherman walks near the gaff, the boat unexpectedly moves and the fisherman comes into contact with the point of the gaff. Thus a gaff is just as dangerous to the fisherman even when not being used.
In addition to a fisherman getting physically hurt, the fish's final twisting and turning may result in the gaff being bent, broken, or even yanked out of the hands of the user and lost overboard.
In the interests of good conservation, regulatory agencies have legally established minimum size limits on certain species of fish. Additionally certain fisherman observe self imposed conservation efforts and want to return their catch unharmed to the water. In both cases the goal is to release these illegal or unwanted fish unharmed. This is impossible to achieve when using a gaff because the gaff has punctured and injured the fish. While the goal of releasing the fish is noble, expecting the wounded illegal fish to survive and grow to a legal size is nothing more than day dreaming. The wounding of these fish is a needless waste of a limited resource and is avoidable with the use of this invention.
One problem that every fisherman wants is to catch a trophy size fish. The lucky fisherman may want to enter this fish in a contest. When a gaff punctures the fish's skin there will be a loss of blood. And while this loss may appear to be minimal there is a possibility that in a contest this loss may be the difference between a wining fish and the second best fish.
When the gaff punctures the fish's skin, the damage to the skin makes it much harder for the taxidermist to make an accurate replica of the living fish for future display
Lastly the flesh around the puncture wound caused by the gaff is almost impossible for human consumption.
One problem that was not solved with the use of a gaff is that the skin on some fish, such as sharks, is so hard to penetrate that even the sharpest of gaffs will not penetrate it. For these fish the gaff doesn't work at all and some other means must be used to boat the fish.
Thus the problem of landing fish without injury to the fish or fisherman has not been solved. As such there is a continuing need for new and improved fish handling device which can be easily utilized by the fisherman without danger of the tool being broken, distorted or lost, is safe to the fisherman, and can be used without damage to the fish. The present invention substantially fulfills this need.